About 1.7 million people in the UK were suffering from work-related ill health, and 33.7 million working days were lost due to this. By 2023-24, 138 individuals were fatally wounded, and 604,000 were injured due to workplace hazards. 

Poor safety practices, often linked to insufficient training, cost the economy £21.6 billion annually. Half of the employees miss mandatory health and safety training at work, which increases the chance of workplace risks. What health and safety training is mandatory in the UK?

health and safety training

Here, we will help you understand the necessity of health and safety training at work and learn about the mandatory health and safety training to work in a safe, more compliant working environment. Find out more.

What is Health and Safety Training?

Health and safety training is a structured process. It helps employees and everyone else at work learn the procedures and practices to ensure workplace safety.  It’s essential to understand risks, identify hazards, and prevent workplace injuries, accidents, and illnesses. 

It also enforces safe working practices, guidelines and regulations and ensures that all people meet the legal requirements of safety. It is the duty of employers to offer training on health and safety in the workplace.

Health and safety training includes many crucial aspects like risk assessment, emergency responses, control measures, preventive strategies and the particular instruction guide to provide a safe, compliant working environment.

Basic Health and Safety Training

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Why Do We Need Health and Safety Training?

To ensure a safer and more compliant working environment, it is important to recognise the importance of health and safety training. Health and safety training at every workplace in the UK must include the following,

  • Identifying and understanding risks and hazards at work.
  • Preventing work-related injuries, illnesses, and accidents through adequate control measures.
  • Implementing effective suggestions on ways of reducing work-related injuries, illnesses, and accidents. 
  • Compliance with the safety responsibilities and obligations. It also entails the use of safe working practices, guidelines, and regulations.
  • Ensuring compliance with the law and legal requirements.
  • Describing various safety signs at the workplace and their meanings.
  • Establishing rigid emergency measures and responses.
  • Ensuring Fire Safety awareness, COSHH awareness, and Asbestos Awareness for all staff.
  • Implementing the best practices in DSE measures, manual handling practices, COSHH procedures and electrical safety measures.

Health and Safety Courses

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What health and safety training is mandatory in the UK? 

Although this may not be a legal requirement, mandatory training is mandated by internal policies and procedures. It assists an organisation to cope with risk, industry standards, and satisfy the requirements of the clients.

Mandatory health and safety training ensures the safety of workers and makes the working environment suitable for everyone. Let’s take a look at the mandatory health and safety training that is required in every UK workplace!

Manual Handling Training

Manual Handling Training

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The manual handling training course will help you learn the necessary skills and knowledge regarding safe manual handling. It contains details about the lifting methods like LITE (Load, Individual, Task, and Environment), and safe manual handling practices. 

Proper handling of the manual is essential for successful work operations, particularly when handling is commonly done. Adequate training on the safe methods of carrying and lifting at work is a legal obligation. Particularly when your employees are asked to carry out any lifting, lowering, pulling or pushing as a duty.

Display Screen Equipment (DSE) Training

This is a mandatory training for those who utilise display screen equipment frequently. It helps you comply with the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 adequately. It also assists DSE users to avoid RSI, headaches, eyestrains and backache.

Fire Safety Training

Fire safety training educates employees and everyone at work about the risks involved in fire. It also educates about the effective ways that can be employed practically to reduce the risks. 

The necessary fire risk assessment training includes risk awareness, risk assessment, emergency plans, emergency alarms, and the use of extinguishers. It should be offered during induction and with refresher training every year in order to uphold compliance.

Fire Safety Training

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Fire safety training is a legal obligation in the UK for all employers. It is aimed at preventing fire as well as providing safe and quick evacuation. 

Risk Assessments and Management Training

Risk assessment training is designed to teach individuals how to identify hazards, evaluate potential risks and implement effective control measures. Providing mandatory training on risk management ensures that risks are managed in real-time and early before it happens to protect everyone at work.

Health and Safety Induction Training

This is an introductory health and safety training that covers the most important areas of health and safety at work. It gives a simple yet thorough introduction to the key issues that will make your workplace safe. Employers in every workplace are legally obliged to provide this training to their employees. 

Conflict Resolution Training

mandatory training courses

Conflict resolution training helps employees detect, control, and effectively solve workplace conflicts in a constructive manner. It contributes to greater productivity and a preferred work environment. 

It includes communication, emotional intelligence, and the approach to negotiations. It also helps build a good relationship between employees and their employers.

Mental Health Awareness Training

Mental health awareness training provides the skills to be able to identify, empathise with and assist people with mental ill-health. It eliminates stigma and enhances well-being. It helps identify the symptoms of anxiety, depression, and many other mental health disorders.

Lone Worker Training

Lone worker training helps employees who work without direct supervision handle unique safety risks, identify hazards, conduct risk assessment, and follow emergency procedures. 

Lone Worker Training

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RIDDOR Training

This is an obligation of law for employers to facilitate such training requirements to avoid accidents and violence. The major ones are personal safety, conflict resolution and communication systems.

Stress Awareness Training

Stress awareness training helps employees detect, treat and avoid stress to prevent and reduce work-related ill health, sickness, and mental health disorders. It aims to enhance the mental health and overall well-being of everyone.

Legal Compliance Training

Everyone should be aware of the mandatory training courses at work. The training should be provided to employers, managers and supervisors in the mid-level management, directors and the rest of the employees, including the temporary employees and the remote workers.

It will not only ensure the legal compliance of health and safety at work regulations but also secure the health and safety of everyone at work.

What health and safety training is statutory in the UK? 

compliance training

Apart from the mandatory health and safety training, there is also statutory health and safety training in the UK. These are both legal and regulatory requirements. It incorporates the COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) training and Asbestos Awareness training, which are relevant to those employees who work in certain risk-prone sectors.

Most hazardous materials and equipment are found in industries that have a higher rate of accidents at work. For example, many workers will be working at height or performing heavy lifting frequently in construction. 

Apart from construction, manufacturing, transportation and agriculture are also risk-prone industries. Employees in such industries need more elaborate training courses that are based on these particular risks. Some of these statutory training courses are,

First Aid Training at Work

Workplace First Aid Training

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RIDDOR Training

Workplace First Aid training offers the required skills and knowledge to enable people respond effectively in case of first aid emergencies at work. It is essential for work industries which have a higher rate of risks and accidents compared to other work industries.

COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) Training

COSHH training is the best way to be sure that your workers are not exposed to substances that may harm their health. Hazardous substances can be potentially dangerous. These are chemicals, chemical products, fumes, dust, and biological agents, among others. 

You can learn more about COSHH, its key regulations, and what it stands for in health and safety.

Working at Height Training

Compliance with the Work at Height Regulations 2005 is to avoid injuries that happen from falls at work. It is a major cause of workplace fatalities, which requires consistent working at height training. 

It includes hazard identification, risk assessment, equipment safety (ladders, scaffolding), and emergency procedures. Workers and supervisors can be trained either online or in-person.

Asbestos Awareness Training

Asbestos awareness training is designed to help employees learn the knowledge and skills necessary for handling asbestos safely in the workplace. This training applies to any individual who works with asbestos and is exposed to its presence. 

You can learn more about asbestos awareness and the different types of asbestos training mandatory for health and safety.

PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) Training

PPE training will make sure that the workers are able to safely select, use and maintain safety equipment. It includes helmets, gloves, masks, etc., to reduce work-related injuries.

mandatory training

Everyone should stay updated with the new legislation and regulations about workplace health and safety. They must inform employees about the changes in the existing HSE guidelines.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How often is health and safety training required?

Safety refreshers should be conducted for the workers every year. Manual handling should be changed as per the alteration of job roles. Training related to equipment (such as forklift, crane, etc.) is to be updated after 1-3 years.

What are the 5 C’s of health and safety?

The 5 C’s of health and safety are Culture, Competence, Communication, Controls, and Cooperation. It is a framework to incorporate leadership commitment, employee competence, risk management systems and collective responsibility to safety at every level.

Can my employer make me do mandatory training in my own time?

Yes, but this does not mean that you can be forced to undergo any form of mandatory training outside the regular working hours. However, where the training is necessary for your job, it is considered working time under the Working Time Regulations 1998.

Do I legally need a health and safety policy?

Yes, under the UK Health and Safety Laws, every business, organisation, and work industry must have a policy for ensuring health and safety. A health and safety policy sets out your general approach to health and safety in the workplace.

What are the 7 key areas of health and safety?

The 7 key areas of health and safety include risk assessment, hazard identification, training and communication, emergency preparedness, personal protective equipment (PPE), equipment safety and legal compliance.

Conclusion

Health and safety procedures are very important to protect the most important assets of your workplace. This is why it’s important to learn about what health and safety training is mandatory in the UK. 

Health and safety training becomes a necessity in risk-prone work industries. According to the law, mandatory health and safety training should be provided on a regular basis. This could involve new processes, new hires, individuals moving jobs or roles, or new risk assessment updates.

The health and safety training must be given on the first day of employment. This should be part of every staff induction process. It ensures that all new members of your staff have taken the same training and know how to keep the working environment safe.